Lord Preston stared at his daughter, his face utterly disbelieving. “Priscilla, you cannot possibly mean—”
“Yes! Yes!” Lady Priscilla interrupted, raising her voice. “Don’t you see? I have loved you this whole time! Ever since my girlhood, I have utterly adored you, and I was so patient. I waited for you to realize how perfect we were for one another!”
“My lady, I—”
“Every season!” Lady Priscilla shouted. “Every single season, I waited for you to notice me! I smiled while you paid your affections to all those other women who only wanted to marry you for your title or your wealth. They did not love you like I did, and I hoped that if I was patient, you would eventually realize that we were meant to be together!”
Lord Preston stood. He reached for his daughter, and she darted away. “That is enough,” Lord Preston said.
“No!” Lady Priscilla snapped, pointing an angry finger at Leo. “Because he married Lydia! Despite how patient and kind I was, how perfect I was for him, he choseher! And I was willing to forgive him. I gave him another chance to make things right, but after Lydia died—”
“Afteryoukilled her!” Leo exclaimed. “Do not speak of her as if she just died! You murdered my beloved wife!”
“And you as good as put a knife in my own heart when you married again!” Lady Priscilla retorted. “How dare you marryViolet…that—that country bumpkin, after I killed Lydia? Violet did not even love you, and she does not love you now!”
“She does,” Leo argued.
Lady Priscilla shook her head. “No,” she said. “No, only I do! And I have given you every chance to be with me, and you keep choosing these unworthy women!”
“No longer,” Leo said coldly, “because Violet is alive. She is going to be fine.”
Lady Priscilla’s eyes widened. She inhaled sharply. “No!”
“Yes,” Leo replied. “And I am going to call the constable, and you will—”
“Wait!” Lord Preston exclaimed. “Your Grace, we do not need to involve the constable.”
Leo raised an eyebrow. “Don’t we?” he asked.
“We don’t,” Lady Priscilla said, her eyes brimming with tears. At once, everything about her seemed to change. She sank into her chair and folded in on herself, all her anger seeming to have exhausted her. “Violet is alive.”
Leo glanced between her and Lord Preston. “She tried to murder my wife, who is carrying my child,” Leo said deliberately. “I think we do need to involve the constable.”
Leo turned away, nearly colliding with his own footman. He frowned, trying to think of why one ofhisstaff might be in Lady Priscilla’s home, but before he could speak, Lord Preston cleared his throat. “Your Grace,” he said, “I am begging you to leave this matter between us.”
Leo turned his head. Lord Preston had stood, his blue eyes silently imploring for mercy. “Why should I?” Leo asked.
Lady Priscilla sobbed and buried her face between her hands. Leo clenched his jaw and forced his gaze away from her.
“For the decades of friendship between our families,” Lord Preston said. “And think of my younger daughters—two of whom are just entering their first seasons. Having a murderer for a sister will ruin their chances at finding smart matches.”
“How fitting,” Leo said. “Being accused of Lady Priscilla’s crime ruinedmychances of making a smart match.”
“Yes, yes,” Lord Preston said, taking a step towards Leo. “Of course, it did, and that was unfair. However, I am sure that you would not wish that fate on two innocent young women. My daughters had no involvement in Lady Priscilla’s actions, so it would be cruel to punish them for their sister’s crimes.”
Leo felt a twinge of guilt. Lord Preston was right. Revealing Lady Priscilla’s crimes to all of Englandwouldhurt some innocent people. But could he live with himself if he did not? Would Violet want that? Leo could not ask what Violet wanted, and although the physician said that his wife would recover, there was always the chance that the man was mistaken.
“And although I know she has committed heinous crimes,” Lord Preston said, his gaze darting towards Lady Priscilla, “she is my daughter, and I love her. I could not bear to see her imprisoned or hanged for her crimes, Your Grace. I beg you to show us mercy, and I promise that you will never hear from us again. We will trouble you no longer.”
Leo curled his hands into fists and dug his nails into the palms of his hands. “Is that so?” he asked.
“I swear to it,” Lord Preston said. “I will return to London with Priscilla, and I will watch over her. I will keep her far from you and your wife. She will never see you again.”
“No!” Lady Priscilla exclaimed, lifting her head. Her face was red and her eyes were full of tears. “No, you cannot keep me from him! Leo, why can’t you see that I love you and that we are meant to be together for the rest of our lives? I adore you! Surely, you do not believe that Violet can ever love you as much as I do!”
“This is not love,” Leo said. “What you feel for me is an obsession, my lady, and I could never love someone who hurts others. You will never have my affections. Lord Preston, I will do as you have asked, but I expect Lady Priscilla to be gone when I wake in the morning.”
“Of course, Your Grace. Thank you for showing us such generosity.”
